Olorofim employs a novel mechanism of action within the antifungal space and was tested in patients with high mortality risk who had exhausted treatment options.

Shionogi unveiled its latest pipeline update, including a focus on long-standing key areas such as HIV and COVID-19 and a new obesity candidate, at its recent R&D Day, amid struggles to line up new products for launch over the next few years. The Japanese firm also seems set to seek further in-licencing collaborations.

With new antibiotics a rare commodity, persistently inadequate reimbursement for innovations and worthy but often piecemeal pilots, antimicrobial resistance has quietly risen to become a factor in well over a million deaths annually. Now that COVID-19 is not the all-encompassing threat to health it was until fairly recently, AMR is once again moving towards the center of attention. But properly funded actions and mindset changes are needed.

Having banked a $100m upfront fee from licensing partner Shionogi a couple of months ago, F2G has now unveiled a $70m financing to advance its late-stage novel oral antifungal, olorofim.